Richard Mulligan, TV Great

Published: 11/13/2012

Actor Richard Mulligan is shown in this 1986 photo. Mulligan, who won Emmys for his portrayals of dads in the sitcoms "Soap" and "Empty Nest," has died at age 67. Mulligan died at his home in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2000 after a long battle with cancer, publicist Julian Myers said in a statement. (AP Photo/Alison Wise)

Richard Mulligan was one of the TV greats of the 1970s, '80s and '90s.

Mulligan, who would have turned 80 today, starred in a couple of our very favorite TV shows. One, the show that gave him his big TV break, was Soap. Playing Sheriff Burt Campbell – and his alien double – Mulligan won an Emmy Award.

Mulligan won another Emmy – as well as a Golden Globe – for his next TV series. Empty Nest was a spinoff of The Golden Girls, but it didn't rely on its sister show; it stood on its own two feet for seven seasons.

Mulligan's TV series were huge hits, but they weren't the only notable things he did. We also loved his 1986 appearance on The Twilight Zone, in which he reprised a role originated by Art Carney in 1959.

Mulligan shone on the big screen, too – as when he played General Custer in Little Big Man.

General or doctor, alien or Santa, Richard Mulligan always nailed his roles.